What We Can Learn from Children About Mindfulness

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September 18, 2020

What We Can Learn from Children About Mindfulness

Are you interested in gaining a deeper understanding of how to practice mindfulness together with young children? Join Gryphon House on October 14 for their webinar, “What We Can Learn from Children About Mindfulness to Transform Our Learning Environments.”

About

During this webinar, Dr. Elizabeth Joy Erwin, Professor of Education at Montclair State University, will discuss why we have so much to learn from children, especially the youngest ones; how to develop and maintain a culture of mindfulness; and simple mindfulness practices to engage in starting now. By discovering how to integrate simple ideas and practical strategies to calm the body and quiet the mind, educators can select the exact tools they want to ensure all children learn and thrive.

This webinar is best suited for PreK-5 teachers, librarians, therapists, and school and district leaders. Time for questions will be provided.

Registration

To register and learn more, visit the event webpage.

Essential Trauma-Informed Practices During COVID-19 Recovery

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Essential Trauma-Informed Practices During COVID-19 Recovery

Are you interested in learning about essential trauma-informed practices you can use to support your students during the COVID-19 recovery? Join The Social Express on October 13 for their webinar, “Essential Trauma-Informed Practices During COVID-19 Recovery.”

About

During this webinar, presenters will explore the topic of trauma, the brain, and effective strategies to help teachers, students, and their families reach positive outcomes in school and at home. This webinar will be of particular interest to PreK-12 teachers; school and district leaders; special education leaders and specialists; guidance counselors; and school psychologists. Time for questions will be provided.

Registration

To register and learn more, visit the event webpage.

English Learners: Strategies for Digital Learning

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English Learners: Strategies for Digital Learning

Are you interested in learning digital learning strategies to support English Learners in your online classroom? Join Digital Promise on September 30 for their webinar, “English Learners: Strategies for Digital Learning and the Language of Academic Content.”

About

During this webinar, speakers will share research-based learning strategies and supports that address learner variability, the shift to digital, and the specific challenges and opportunities for English Learners. Additionally, speakers will:

    • provide a framework for teaching the language of content, with a focus on math and science examples;
    • examine how to translate word walls, manipulatives, sentence frames, and many other research-based strategies to a digital-learning environment;
    • highlight the importance of family-teacher-student partnerships that help learning happen; and
    • explore research-based factors of learning that have an impact on all English learners.

This webinar is best suited for K-12 teachers and administrators, especially those who teach English Learners; instructional coaches; ELS coordinators; EdTech coordinators; and other school and district leaders. Time for questions will be provided.

Registration

To register and learn more, visit the event webpage.

Teaching Preschool with an Equity Lens

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Teaching Preschool with an Equity Lens

Are you interested in learning how to promote equity in your preschool classroom? Join the National Association for the Education of  Young Children (NAEYC) in October and November for their facilitated online mini-course, “Each & Every Child: Teaching Preschool with an Equity Lens.”

About

This online course will focus on what equity can look like for teachers working with children ages three to five years old on a day-to-day basis in the classroom. Participants will learn strategies and tips on how to support the learning and development of each child in their classroom through intentional play opportunities and guided instructional supports.

Course Timeline

This course includes four hours of self-paced learning and three hours of face-to-face video meetings with a facilitator over the course of four weeks:

    • October 5, 2020 at 5:00 p.m.
    • October 19, 2020 at 5:00 p.m.
    • November 2, 2020 at 5:00 p.m.

Registration

To register for this facilitated course, visit the NAEYC website. All registrations must be submitted by October 1, 2020. Space is limited.

Recess Helps Students Reach Their Full Potential

News

September 17, 2020

Recess Helps Students Reach Their Full Potential

As we begin a very different school year, the Recess Advocacy Team continues to elevate play and provide support to educators and families. Recess is key to helping students reach their full potential within the classroom and beyond. Several studies show that recess increases children’s attention span and productivity in the classroom.

New Resources from the Recess Advocacy Team

Send a letter to your child’s teacher

The Recess Advocacy Team updated their student letter asking teachers to remember the importance of play to reflect our current times.
Instructions:
(1) Download the letter
(2) Enter information for the teacher, your child’s name, and your name in the editable boxes
(3) Save the letter with your information
(4) Send the electronically signed letter via email

If your child is attending school in person, you can still download, print, and share a hard copy.

Play and Physical Activity Resource Guide for Educators and Families

The Recess Advocacy Team compiled a list of resources for educators and families to make sure play and physical activity are a part of childrens’ days and serve as a foundation for their learning, growth, and development. This list includes resources, activities, and considerations for ensuring play shows up in our daily lives—and ways that educators and families can incorporate play/physical activity into children’s learning. Families are encouraged to share this resource when sending the letter to the teacher.

Learn More About the Recess Advocacy Team

The Recess Advocacy Team is a group of organizations dedicated to health, wellness, education, and play with a focus on recess practices and policies in pre-k through sixth grade. You can learn more about the Recess Advocacy Team on the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative website.

Advancing Anti-Racist Instruction in K-12 Curriculum

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September 15, 2020

Advancing Anti-Racist Instruction in K-12 Curriculum

Are you interested in learning concrete strategies for implementing anti-racist content in your school or district? Join EdSurge on October 14 for their webinar, “Advancing Anti-Racist Instruction in K-12 Curriculum.”

About

In this webinar, participants will learn how educators, schools, and districts can and should intentionally interrogate representation within their curriculum and support anti-racism more broadly. In a time when actively anti-racist content is urgently needed in virtual and in-person classrooms alike, representative voices, diverse perspectives, and unheard narratives can still be hard to find in instructional content.

Hear from a panel of experts and education leaders about concrete strategies for implementing anti-racist content in your school or district, across subject areas and grade levels. Participants will also hear from school and district leaders about strategies for taking a multi-pronged approach.

Learning Objectives

During this webinar, participants will learn how to:

    • support anti-racism during remote learning;
    • develop robust instructional content that promotes anti-racism;
    • build an anti-racist culture and safe community in virtual and in-person spaces;
    • support teacher training on anti-racism; and
    • create buy-in for school and district-wide anti-racism efforts.

Registration

To register and learn more, visit the event webpage.

SEL & Mental Health in Distance Learning

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September 11, 2020

SEL & Mental Health in Distance Learning

Are you interested in learning how to implement social-emotional and mental health supports for your students and staff? Attend the webinar “SEL & Mental Health in Distance Learning: District Leaders Share Best Practices” on September 15 to hear best practices from education leaders.

About

In this webinar, presenters will share:

    • how to connect and build trust with students, laying the groundwork for engagement and learning;
    • best practices for supporting students in special education in distance learning;
    • how to ensure staff feels safe and supported;
    • how to implement SEL that supports anti-racism and equity in distance learning; and
    • how to implement digital tools in an MTSS for efficacy and sustainability.

School and district administrators will learn concrete steps they can take to deliver effective, trauma-informed SEL and mental health supports to students and staff as schools and communities continue to grapple with the challenges of COVID-19.

This recorded webinar will be of interest to school and district leaders of pre-k through high school grade levels, federal program coordinators, and those involved in student mental health.

Registration

To register and learn more, visit the event webpage.

Policy Change: Parents Caring for Their Own Children in Child Care

News

September 8, 2020

Policy Change: Parents Caring for Their Own Children in Child Care

OCDEL’s Bureau of Policy and Professional Development recently released Announcement 20 #15 which explains changes to the policy regarding parents and caregivers caring for their own children in a child care setting during the COVID-19 pandemic-related Proclamation of Disaster Emergency. This policy change is effective as of September 1, 2020. Read below to learn more.

About

For the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic-related Proclamation of Disaster Emergency, the current policy will be revised to allow for parents and caregivers to provide care for their own children in a child care facility. This change allows a parent or caretaker who is a teacher, assistant teacher, or aide in a classroom at the same child care facility where their children are enrolled to have their children in their classroom.

Parents and caregivers will be able to receive subsidized child care payments for their children as long as there is another paid teacher, assistant teacher, or aide present in the classroom for a majority of the day. Additionally, there must be at least one other child in the classroom, that is not the child of the parent or caregiver, for which the parent or caregiver is caring for.

More Information

For more information, read the full announcement.

Stress Management Tools and Techniques

News

September 1, 2020

Stress Management Tools and Techniques

Are you interested in learning evidence-based tools parents, teachers, and children can use to self-soothe and regulate their emotions? Join Coach Troy Byer on September 22 for “Stress Management Tools and Techniques.”

About

In this webinar, Mind Care & Emotion Regulation Expert Troy Byer will highlight tools and tips parents, teachers, and children can use to self-soothe and regulate their emotions – especially when confronted with stressors, threats, or challenges.

Coach Troy will help participants learn exercises focused on self-soothing and emotion regulation techniques that address confusion, anger, anxiety, depression, and help children regulate their behavior. Participants will complete this webinar with a toolbox of organic, quick, effective, and fun techniques.

Featured Topics

This webinar will feature the following topics:

    • how to use Emotion Regulation Finger Holds, how they work, and why they work so well;
    • how to distinguish emotional triggers and how to deactivate a trigger before it is expressed negatively; and
    • the importance of maintaining a state of peace and right brain/left brain coherence and how to organically regulate the experience.

Registration

To register, visit the event webpage.

Virtual UnConference: Caring in a “New Normal”

News

August 19, 2020

Virtual UnConference: Caring in a “New Normal”